A coalition of 180 rights groups representing Tibetans,Uighurs,Inner Mongolians,Hong Kong residents and others sent an open letter this month calling for a diplomatic boycott.
A detention facility in the Kunshan Industrial Park in Artux,Xinjiang.Credit:AP
The IOC has said repeatedly that awarding the Olympics “does not mean that the IOC agrees with the political structure,social circumstances or human rights standards in the country” that hosts them.
Beijing is the first city to hold both the Winter and Summer Olympics. The IOC awarded it the Winter Olympics in 2015 when several Europe bidders,including Oslo and Stockholm,backed out for political or financial reasons.
The head of the Canadian Organising Committee,David Shoemaker,rejected the idea of changing the venue.
Loading
“We believe that moving the Games less than a year out would be next to impossible. Organising an Olympic Games is an incredibly complex undertaking that typically takes more than seven years to do,” he said in a statement.
“The COC will focus on its role of preparing Team Canada for success and promoting the Olympic values at home and abroad.”
Guy Saint-Jacques,Canada’s former ambassador to China,said the Winter Olympics should be postponed for a year and could be held elsewhere.
Saint-Jacques said the US needs to take the lead.
“We know that China has said it would punish very severely any country that would dare to suggest to move the Olympics,but for democratic countries they have to think how history will judge us,” he said.
“If you are in good company it becomes very difficult for China to punish one country. The only country that can stand up to China is the US.”
Reuters